England boss Gareth Southgate explains why things have not gone smoothly for Christian Pulisic at Chelsea
Talking to ESPN (h/t Metro), England manager Gareth Southgate explains why things have not gone well for Christian Pulisic at Chelsea, but marked him as one of the potential threats when the Three Lions take on the USA in the World Cup.
Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2019, the American international has struggled to make the impact at Stamford Bridge that was expected of him upon his arrival.
He has been a fringe player in either of the three managers he played under so far in west London. Southgate earmarked the struggle to adapt to the Premier League as one of the reasons why the 24-year-old has had little impact in England.
Here’s what the Three Lions boss said regarding Pulisic (h/t Metro):
“I obviously watched him [Pulisic] a fair bit at Borussia Dortmund as we had Jadon Sancho there at the time and then moving into Chelsea, I think that adaptation from the Bundesliga to the Premier League isn’t straightforward for a start.
“The level of the biggest games is similar if you’re playing Bayern Munich or [Red Bull] Leipzig but then when you drop down the league.”
“There’s a big difference between the spending power in the bottom half of the Premier League where they can basically take players from some of the biggest clubs in Europe and the bottom half of most of the other leagues in Europe where that depth isn’t there. I think that takes some adjusting to.”
The former Dortmund man’s contract at Stamford Bridge expires in the summer of 2024 (Transfermarkt). His future at the club is uncertain, with a possibility that he may on to different pastures in January itself.
His Chelsea numbers read 26 goals and 21 assists in 131 appearances in all competitions. Granted that probably one-third of those appearances came off the bench, it is still a low return for a player who was touted to do big things once he arrived in London.
Pulisic is a good player who just hasn’t been able to cut it at this club. Maybe, the right option for him would be to move on to another club sooner rather than later.
The USA international is only 24 after all, and there is time to resurrect his stale career. It does not seem like the resurrection would come at Chelsea. If he has a good World Cup, his stock may rise and the Blues may get good money by selling him in January.
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A time will come when our club will have to take a call on what to do with Pulisic and if they should back him to succeed here or cut their losses and move on. The latter gradually seems like the better option.